As In Like
by Feather V. Hawkins
Summary: Naruto and Sakura haven't gotten over Sasuke's betrayal so well, but when someone finally comes to her senses, it seems te other is still as knuckleheaded as ever.
1. Chapter 1

"**Naruto!" **

**He turned—it was Sakura and she was staring at the ground. Why? Sakura only did that with Sasuke and he was dead now. Besides, that was only when she was super self conscious. She'd never bothered with that on Naruto—he gave her a bad look at it cost him a tooth. His blue eyes ran over, just making sure she wasn't hurt or anything…but that was ridiculous. Oh, ever since he'd had that dream about her last month he'd looked at every movement, word, or thing she said so deeply because he knew he had only two years left to do it or he'd have to give up.**

**That had been Naruto's vow. He was sixteen and, yet, Sakura Haruno usually didn't give him more than a second look. That is, if she looked at all. But now she was giving him **_**every **_**look.**

"**What is it, Sakura?"**

**She looked over at the tree and, rather stupidly, Naruto looked too. When she realized he'd followed her gaze, she looked straight back at him. **_**His eyes are really blue. I never noticed that before—and they're really bright, really excited. Is that just now? Or has it been all this time?**_

"**So I heard Ino asked you out, huh, Naruto?" she said. There was a hint of accusation in his voice, not enough to suggest jealousy, but enough to make Naruto uneasy without a real reason. **

**He started to look at his nails. So that was it, was it? **_**Ino and her have been so competitive for years. What if she asked me out just for this? What would I say? Would I say yes even though I knew it was more of a bet then a relationship? Damn it—I would, wouldn't I? I bet Sakura would've done the same for Sasuke. **_**"Yeah she did, but I'm really not interested in her that way…or anyway as a matter of fact." There defiantly **_**was**_** accusation in this glance that he shot Sakura afterwards and she blushed. **

"**Well anyway I got this coupon for free ramen and I thought you might want to come with me…" Her cheeks began to react not only to heat, but to clichés. "That is, if you aren't so busy training. I mean, I know you've been working so hard and I thought you might like to have some fun. Anyway if you can't come that's fine; we could just do it some other time. Anyway, it's alright if you don't want to. If we do it some other day though we could always bring Kakashi-sensei along and maybe see his real face. You know, behind the mask. Remember when we tried that? That was so fun…" Her face got redder. **_**YOU'RE BABBLING, SAKURA! Remember how much Sasuke used to hate that? **_**Inner Sakura began crooning and making her redder and redder. **

"**Sure I'll come! We can invite Kakashi another time—he's boring anyway. All he'll do is read Icha Icha Paradise while we're there. Let's go!" **

**Sakura smiled shyly and they started off towards Naruto's favorite ramen place. **_**Finally—she's going to listen to me like a really person! Maybe this time…maybe we can actually be friends…she hasn't spoken much for about a year.**_

"**Sakura! Naruto!" Hinata waved cheerfully. Ever since she'd befriended Naruto, things in her had drastically changed, maybe from him or maybe from realization. But all bets were on Naruto. **

"**Hey Hinata! Want to come eat with us?" She nodded quickly and took a seat beside Sakura and away from Naruto. **_**Well at least she has some common sense to know that this is. Because Naruto honestly doesn't! **_**Sakura was inwardly pouting. He must not realize why she invited only Naruto…if she'd wanted to go somewhere with him that wasn't a date, she would've brought Hinata or Sai or even Kakashi along. The old familiar feeling of wanting to gouge his eyes out took over…**

**The chef put three bowls of steaming hot ramen in front of them and the waitress giggled at Naruto. Well it appeared someone had hit puberty a bit late—but better late then never because she'd developed something that Sakura would call c-cups and what Naruto would call boobs. And now that Naruto was sixteen and rather good looking, she wasn't beyond wearing a loose shirt and hanging over him while he ate. **

**Sometimes she wondered if he was gay…because he drooled more over ramen then that. **

"**So, um, how's your training going, Hinata?" Naruto said awkwardly.**

"**Oh it's going good. Father's saying that if I keep this up, I'll eventually be on equal footing with Neji. Of course, I don't believe that, but still. Tenten and my sister are helping me train a lot of course, but I've made a lot of process." She giggled. "How have you and Sakura been doing?"**

**Sakura smiled and said, "Lady Tsunade is the best teacher ever! It's too bad a lot of her jutsu are things you can only learn by yourself like that one where she can heal herself from fatal injuries. Of course, it takes years off your life, but it's a great thing to know."**

**Naruto secretly smiled. When Sakura talked medical, she was as happy as Naruto talking ramen or talking about when he became hokage. Only she didn't say, "Believe it."**

"**So which one is it, Naruto?" the cook asked in a whisper. "Grey eyes or pink hair?"**

**Naruto gave him a long blank stare before realizing which one it was. "Um…uh…ah…well…" **

"**Well don't answer right away, kid. Here, have another on the house." He heaved ramen into his bowl and Naruto grinned. "Thanks!"**

"**Don't worry about it—hey, if I gave away a bowl of free ramen for every ten visits like that other one does, I'd owe you a lot of ramen. But just between you and me, what's your preference over there?"**

"**Pink hair," he whispered guiltily, "but she already knows."**

**They ate quietly for a few minutes until Sakura finished and said too sweetly, "Naruto-ooo, why don't I talk to you later about something very-eee important? You know…a good place would be over near our old training hollow." **_**Conveniently placed where no one can here you scream and where no one will find your body for a few days. **_

_**Oh god—it's—it's nice Sakura! I'm scared…Hinata, I'm scared. Maybe I should say I have to go hide behind Kakashi-sensei instead. Or maybe I should just make a run for it. Maybe Tsunade…she'd hand me right over to Sakura, the witch. And the Pervy Sage would just laugh and run if I could find him at all. What about Ino? No—not even I'll sink that low. Shino? Too creepy. Kiba? I don't think he's forgiven me for destroying him with a fart. Shikamaru? Psh, like he'd do anything. Neji? No, just, no. Hinata's too shy. Lee? Sorry, too much self respect for that. Tenten? I hardly know her. Konahamoru's too weak. Augh I'm screwed. Royally, brutally, and terribly screwed.**_

**He shoveled his last spoonful of remaining ramen into his mouth for all he knew this could be his last meal. Poor Hinata tactfully left and even the cook didn't stay around too much longer. And there was no more dragging it out…**


	2. Chapter 2OH

"**We're going, Naruto-ooo," Sakura said, adding way too much of a slur to his name. "Come on, we'll go to the training hollow!"**

**She sounded like how all the girls had acted around Sasuke—too sugary, too nice. But when Sakura acted like this, there was danger in the air. She grabbed his hand and began to drag him through the village. **

**Why was she so mad? Honestly, what had he done? It was stupid Sakura who hadn't talked to him for a whole year…who'd acted like he didn't exist for an entire year. He closed his eyes, not caring anymore, until Sakura had pinned him against a tree.**

"**DO YOU NOT KNOW WHY I ASKED YOU TO COME WITH ME, NARUTO UZAMAKI?" He didn't answer. "DO YOU THINK I JUST WANTED TO—TO—" The next words "to be friends" wouldn't come out. "TALK!"**

"**That **_**is**_** what I thought, Sakura," Naruto moaned. His head hurt and his neck was aching. Then Sakura released him and he slid down the trunk of the tree, slumped beneath it. **

**Her back was turned, but she was only a foot away. Sakura was breathing heavily…almost panting, but not quiet. "You—you thought—you didn't realize what I was asking you, Naruto?" Her voice was weak, disbelieving.**

"**Um…just for the record…what were you asking?"**

**Sakura let out a loud scream. "NARUTO, DAMN IT ALL, I WAS ASKING YOU TO GO OUT WITH ME AS IN DATE, AS IN LIKING, AS IN ROMANCE, NOT GO OUT FOR RAMEN AND CALL OTHER PEOPLE TO SIT WITH US. I THOUGHT YOU OF ALL PEOPLE WOULD KNOW THAT SEEING AS YOU SPEND ALL YOUR TIME WITH THE PERVY SAGE!"**

**Naruto's blue eyes widened, but all he could say was, "The Pervy Sage leaves me on my own most of the time…I don't see too many women with him. Actually, most women don't see him either."**

**Sakura suddenly realized that Naruto's training had been peeping at women and was rather shocked. Sure, she had Tsunade as a teacher and Tsunade wasn't above looking at pictures of…. Sakura had to say or wanted to say was that it wasn't exactly something a teacher should share. **

**Tsunade had offered too. Sometimes Sakura wondered if Oroichimaru was the best out of the third hokage's students. At least he didn't look at porn or spy on girls…no, all he did was swallow swords and tried to kill the hidden leaf village. **

"**Okay, Naruto, let's get this straight. You didn't think that I was asking you out—you thought I meant to be like you and Hinata? Like how you and Sasuke used to hang out? Naruto, do you not get how a girl can like a guy in a way **_**other**_** then "let's train together and go eat ramen"? It might not be something you're familiar with, Naruto, but it's something I am. I mooned after Sasuke for too long and—yes, now I regret that wasted time, Naruto, don't even ask—but besides that, did you notice that I ignored you for **_**one year**_**, Naruto? Yeah—I was confused, scared, and disgusted. How could someone who doubted you for all those years suddenly decide she wanted nothing more then to talk to you? How could I almost be killed by Sasuke then suddenly fall in love with you?**

"**You have no idea what was coming into my brain, Naruto. Everything I'd believed in felt like it'd been rattled, some just outright destroyed. So I decided avoiding you would be best, then we started training…then I come down to this and you—well you didn't seem to **_**get**_** it."**

**Her face was red and there were huge tears in the corner of her eyes. Naruto reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, whispered her name, and pulled her against him. "You know I'm an idiot—I never could've figured all that out on my own. Even with all that screaming I don't have it all figured out."**

**Her hair smelled really good, flowery with a kind of sharp twang to it. "Naruto," she cried, "you're an idiot, do you know that? A stupid, hyperactive knucklehead with no common sense." **

"**Yeah, I know, Sakura." **

**In a quick shift of her weight, she was on the ground, Naruto sprawled on top of her. Why in the world was his jumpsuit so thick? What was he, anti-social, afraid of girls? "Go ahead, Blondie," she teased, "you need instructions for this?"**

_**Sakura? You want the honest answer? Yes! All I have to go on is… **_**"No…I read a chapter of Icha Icha Paradise. I think that taught me all I'll ever need to know."**

**Sakura didn't comment on what she'd learned from Kakashi-sensei that **_**wasn't **_**from a book. Of course, ignoring Naruto had gotten her in a bit of a depression and Kakashi had been sort of drunk and so had Sakura. At least it had only been third base… **

**But to get back on subject, Naruto's face was a centimeter from hers—so close that he'd think he'd moved if Sakura tilted her head up a bit. And she'd bet Naruto would come back down if she wanted him to. Still, she wasn't into making the first move. Naruto was supposed to do that! **_**Stupid blonde idiot…Kakashi certainly knew what to do.**_

_**Sakura, how far do you want me to go? What if she gets mad and punches me for being a pervert? **_**Sakura answered that by grabbing his hands and shoving them, violently, down her dress. "Stop being a gay little wuss, Naruto, I won't do everything."**

**Instead of getting right to it, Naruto began kissing her, feeling the icy stiffness in her neck slip away. The zipper of his jacket was down, only a thin blue shirt covering him. Sakura was heating up, her body temperature going through the roof and Naruto wasn't exactly freezing despite it being a chilly autumn day and he was currently lacking his usual shirt. **

**Sakura slid her tongue through the gap in his lips and started doing what could be called exploring. "Hmm, Naruto," she'd added the extra slur to his name, but he wasn't threatened. **

"**Sakura…" She loved his raspy voice and the feeling of his hands and fingers groping her breasts. Letting out a low moan, she attached herself back onto lips, running her hands through his blond hair. Meanwhile, Naruto made good use of her temporary insanity and his hands roamed all over.**

**She pressed her chest against his, feeling her nipples harden as it happened. Her bra…what had happened to it? Oh who really cared anymore, seriously. Now his tongue was in her mouth and she could feel his hands playing with her chest area. And kami, both of them felt really good.**

_**Naruto…**_


End file.
